Ezekiel xxii. 14. Can thine heart endure, or can thine hands be strong in the days that I shall deal with thee? I the Lord save spoken it, and will do it.
In the former part of this chapter, we have a dreadful catalogue of the
sins of Jerusalem; as you may see from the first to the thirteenth verse.
In the thirteenth, which is the verse preceeding the text, God manifests
his great displeasure and fearful wrath against them for those their iniquities.
"Behold, I have smitten mine hand at thy dishonest gain which thou
hast made, and at thy blood which hath been in the midst of thee."
The expression of God's smiting his hand, signifies the greatness of his
anger, and his preparing himself, as it were to execute wrath answerable
to their heinous crimes. It is an allusion to what we sometimes see in men
when they are surprised, by seeing or hearing of some horrid offence, or
most intolerable injury, which very much stirs their spirits, and animates
them with high resentment; on such an occasion they will rise up in wrath
and smite their hands together, as an expression of the heat of their indignation,
and full resolution to be avenged on those who have committed the injury;
as in chap. xxi. 7. " I will also smite mine hands together, and I
will cause my fury to rest: I the Lord have said it,"
Then, in the text, the punishment of that people is represented.
1. The nature of their punishment is more generally represented in that
therein God will undertake to deal with them: God here threatens to deal
with the sinners in Jerusalem. The prophets could do nothing with them.
God had sent them one after another; but those sinners were too strong for
them, and beat one, and killed another. Therefore now God himself undertakes
to deal with them.
2. Their punishment is more particularly represented in three things, viz.
The intolerableness, the remedilessness, and the unavoidableness of it.
(1.) The intolerableness of it: Can thine heart endure?
(2.) The remedilessness, or the impossibility of their doing any thing for
their own relief: Can thine hands be strong?
(3.) The unavoidableness of it: I the Lord have spoken it, and will do it.
DOCTRINE
Since God hath undertaken to deal with impenitent sinners, they shall neither
shun the threatened misery, nor deliver themselves out of it, nor can they
bear it.
In handling this doctrine, I shall, 1. Show what is implied in God's undertaking
to deal with inpenitent sinners. 2. That therefore they cannot avoid punishment.
3. That they cannot in any measure deliver themselves from it, or do any
thing for their own relief under it. 4. That they cannot bear it. 5. I shall
answer an inquiry; and then proceed to the use.
I. I shall show what is implied in God's undertaking to deal with impenitent
sinners...Others are not able to deal with them. They baffle all the means
used with them by those that are appointed to teach and to rule over them.
They will not yield to parents, or to the counsels, warning, or reproofs
of ministers. They prove obstinate and stiff-hearted. Therefore God undertakes
to deal with them This implies the following things:
1. That God will reckon with them, and take of them satisfaction to his
justice. In this world God puts forth his authority to command them; and
to require subjection to him. In his commands he is very positive, strictly
requiring of them the performance of such and such duties, and as positively
forbidding such and such things which were contrary to their duty. But they
have no regard to these commands. God continues commanding, and they continue
rebelling. They make nothing of God's authority. God threatens, but they
despise his threatening They make nothing of dishonoring God; they care
not how much their behavior is to the dishonor of God. He offers them mercy,
if they will repent and return; but they despise his mercy as well as his
wrath. God calleth, but they refuse. Thus they are continually plunging
themselves deeper and deeper in debt, and at the same time imagine they
shall escape the payment of the debt, and design entirely to rob God of
his due.
But God hath undertaken to right himself. He will reckon with them; he hath
undertaken to see that the debts due to him are paid. All their sins are
written in his book; not one of them is forgotten, and every one must be
paid. If God be wise enough, and strong enough, he will have full satisfaction:
he will exact the very uttermost farthing. He undertakes it as his part,
as what belongs to him, to see himself righted, wherein he hath been wronged
Deut. xxii. 35. "To me belongeth vengeance." Ibid. vii. 10. "He
will not be slack to him that hateth him; he will repay him to his face."
2. He hath undertaken to vindicate the honor of his Majesty. His Majesty
they despise. They hear that he is a great God; but they despise his greatness;
they look upon him worthy of contempt, and treat him accordingly. They hear
of him by the name of a great King; but his authority they regard not, and
sometimes trample upon it for years together. But God hath not left the
honor of his Majesty wholly to their care. Though they now trample it in
the dust, yet that is no sign that it will finally be lost. If God had left
it wholly in their hands, it would indeed be lost. But God doth not leave
his honor and his glory with his enemies; it is too precious in his eyes
to be so neglected. He hath reserved the care of it to himself: He will
see to it that his own injured Majesty is vindicated. If the honor of God,
upon which sinners trample, finally lie in the dust, then it will be because
he is not strong enough to vindicate himself. He hath sworn that great oath
in Numbers xiv. 2 1. "As truly as I live, all the earth shall be filled
with the glory of the Lord."
Sinners despise his Son, and trample him under their feet. But he will see,
if he cannot make the glory of his Son appear, with respect to them; that
all the earth may know how evil a thing it is to despise the Son of God.
God intends that all men and angels, all heaven and all earth, shall see
whether he be sufficient to magnify himself upon sinners who now despise
him. He intends that the issue of things with respect to them shall be open,
that all men may see it.
3. He hath undertaken to subdue impenitent sinners. Their hearts while in
this world are very unsubdued. They lift up their heads and conduct themselves
very proudly and contemptuously, and often sin with an high hand. They set
their mouths against the heavens, and their tongues walk through the earth.
They practically say as Pharaoh did, "Who is the Lord? I know not the
Lord, neither will I obey his voice." Job xxi. 4 1. "They say
to God, Depart from us, for we desire not the knowledge of thy ways."
Some, who cover their sin with specious show, who put on a face of religion,
and a demure countenance and behavior, yet have this spirit secretly reigning
in their breasts. Notwithstanding all their fair show, and good external
carriage, they despise God in their hearts, and have the weapons of war
about them, though they are secret enemies, and carry their swords under
their skirts. They have most proud, stubborn, and rebellious hearts, which
are ready to rise in opposition, to contend with him, and to find fault
with his dispensations. Their hearts are full of pride, enmity, stubbornness,
and blasphemy, which work in them many ways, while they sit under the preaching
of the word, and while the spirit of God is striving with them; and they
always continue to oppose and resist God as long as they live in the world;
they never lay down the weapons of their rebellion."
But God hath undertaken to deal with them and to subdue them; and those
proud and stubborn hearts, which will not yield to the power of God's word,
shall be broken by the power of his hand. If they will not be willing subjects
to the golden sceptre, and will not yield to the attractives of his love,
they shall be subject to the force of the iron rod, whether they will or
no.
Them that proudly set up their own righteousness, and their own wills against
God, God hath undertaken to bring down; and without doubt, it will be done.
He hath undertaken to make those who are now regardless of God, regard him.
They shall know that he is Jehovah. Now they will not own that he is the
Lord; but they shall know it, Isa. xxvi. 11. "Lord, when thine hand
is lifted up, they will not see: But they shall see."
Now wicked men not only hate God, but they slight him; they are not afraid
of him. But, he will subdue their contempt. When he shall come to take them
in hand, they will hate him still; but they will not slight him; they will
not make light of his power as they now do; they will see and feel too much
of the infinity of his power to slight it They are now wont to slight his
wrath; but then they will slight it no more, they will be infinitely far
from it, they will find by sufficient experience that his wrath is not to
be slighted: They will learn this to their cost, and they never will forget
it.
4. God hath undertaken to rectify their judgments. Now they will not be
convinced of those things which God tells them in his word. Ministers take
much pains to convince them, but all is in vain. Therefore God will undertake
to convince them, and he will do it effectually. Now they will not be convinced
of the truth of divine things. They have indeed convincing arguments set
before them; they hear and see enough to convince them; yet so prone are
they to unbelief and Atheism, that divine things never seem to them to be
real. But God will hereafter make them seem real.
Now they are always doubting of the truth of the Scriptures, questioning
whether they be the word of God, and whether the threatenings of Scripture
be true. but God hath undertaken to convince them that those threatenings
are true, and he will make them to know that they are true, so that they
will never doubt any more for ever. They will be convinced by dear experience....Now
they are always questioning whether there be any such place as hell. They
hear much about it, but it always seems to them like a dream. But God will
make it seem otherwise than a dream....Now they are often told of the vanity
of the world; but we may as well preach to the beasts, to persuade them
of the vanity of earthly things. But God will undertake to convince them
of this; he will hereafter give them a thorough conviction of it, so that
they shall have a strong sense of the vanity of all these things.
Now ministers often tell sinners of the great importance of an interest
in Christ, and that that is the one thing needful. They are also told the
folly of delaying the care of their souls, and how much it concerns them
to improve their opportunity. But the instructions of ministers do not convince
them, therefore God will undertake to convince them.
Impenitent sinners, while in this world, hear how dreadful hell is. But
they will not believe that it is so dreadful as ministers represent. They
cannot think that they shall to all eternity suffer such exquisite and horrible
torments. But they shall be taught and convinced to purpose, that the representations
ministers give of those torments, agreeable to the word of God, are no bugbears;
and that the wrath of God is indeed as dreadful as they declare. Since God
hath undertaken to deal with sinners, and to rectify their judgments in
these matters, and he will do it thoroughly; for his work is perfect; when
he undertakes to do things, he doth not do them by halves; therefore before
he shall have done with sinners, be will convince them effectually, so that
they shall never be in danger of relapsing into their former errors any
more. He will convince them of their folly and stupidity in entertaining
such notions as they now entertain.
Thus God hath undertaken to deal with obstinate unbelievers. They carry
things on in great confusion; but we need not be dismayed at it: Let us
wait, and we shall see that God will rectify things. Sinners will not always
continue to rebel and despise with impunity. The honor of God will in due
time be vindicated; and they shall be subdued and convicted, and shall give
an account. There is no sin, not so much as an idle word that they shall
speak, but they must give an account of it; Matth. xii 36. And their sins
must be fully balanced, and recompensed, and satisfaction obtained. Because
judgment against their evil works is not speedily executed, their hearts
are fully set in them to do evil. Yet God is a righteous judge; he will
see that judgment is executed in due time.
I come now,
II. To show, that therefore impenitent sinners shall not avoid their due
punishment....God hath undertaken to inflict it; he hath engaged to do it;
he takes it as his work, as what properly belongs to him, and we may expect
it of him. If he hath sworn by his life, that he will do it; and if he hath
power sufficient; if he is the living God, doubtless we shall see it done.
And that God hath declared that he will punish impenitent sinners, is manifest
from, many scriptures; as Deut. xxxii.41. "I will render vengeance
to mine enemies, and will reward them that hate me." Deut. vii. 10.
"He will not be slack to him that hateth him: He will repay him to
his face." Exod. xxxiv. 7. "That will by no means clear the guilty."
Nahum i. 3. "The Lord is slow to anger, and great in power, and will
not at all acquit the wicked."
God saith in the text, "I the Lord hath spoken it, and will do it;"
which leaves no room to doubt of the actual fulfilment of the threatening
in its utmost extent....Some wicked men have flattered themselves, that
although God hath threatened very dreadful things to wicked men for their
sins, yet in his heart he never intends to fulfil his threatenings, but
only to terrify them, and make them afraid, while they live. But would the
infinitely holy God, who is not a man that he should lie, and who speaketh
no vain words, utter himself in this manner: I the Lord have spoken it,
and will do it; I have not only threatened, but I will also fufill my threatenings;
when at the same time these words did not agree with his heart, but he secretly
knew that though he had spoken, yet he intended not to do it? Who is he
that dares to entertain such horrid blasphemy in his heart?
No; let no impenitent sinner flatter himself so vainly and foolishly. If
it were indeed only a man, a being of like impotency and mutability with
themselves, who had undertaken to deal with them; they might perhaps with
some reason flatter themselves; that they should find some means to avoid
the threatened punishment. But since an omniscient, omnipotent, immutable
God hath undertaken, vain are all such hopes.
There is no hope that possibly they may steal away to heaven, though they
die unconverted. There is no hope that they can deceive God by any false
show of repentance and faith, and so be taken to heaven through mistake;
for the eyes of God are as a flame of fire; they perfectly see through every
man; the inmost closet of the heart is all open to him
There is no hope of escaping the threatened punishment by sinking into nothing
at death, like brute creatures Indeed, many wicked men upon their deathbeds
wish for this. If it were so, death would be nothing to them in comparison
with what it now is. But all such wishes are vain.
There is no hope of their escaping without notice, when they leave the body.
There is no hope that God, by reason of the multiplicity of affairs which
ho hath to mind, will happen to overlook them, and not take notice of them,
when they come to die; and so that their souls will slip away privately,
and hide themselves in some secret corner, and so escape divine vengeance.
There is no hope that they shall be missed in a crowd at the day of judgment,
and that they can have opportunity to hide themselves in some cave or den
of the mountains, or in any secret hole of the earth; and that while so
doing, they will not be minded, by reason of the many things which will
be the objects of attention on that day....Neither is there any hope that
they will be able to crowd themselves in among the multitude of the saints
at the right hand of the Judge, and so go to heaven undiscovered....Nor
is there any hope that God will alter his mind, or that he will repent of
what he hath said; for he is not the son of man that lie should repent.
Hath he said, and shall he not do it? Hath he spoken, and shall he not make
it good? When did God ever undertake to do any thing and fail?
I come now,
III. To show, that as impenitent sinners cannot shun the threatened punishment;
so neither can they do any thing to deliver themselves from it, or to relieve
themselves under it. This is implied in those words of the text, Can thine
hand. be strong? It is with our hands that we make and accomplish things
for ourselves. But the wicked in hell will have no strength of hand to accomplish
any thing at all for themselves, or to bring to pass any deliverance, or
any degree of relief.
1. They will not he able in that conflict to overcome their enemy, and so
to deliver themselves. God, who will then undertake to deal with them, and
will gird himself with might to execute wrath, will be their enemy, and
will act the part of an enemy with a witness; and they will have no strength
to oppose him. Those who live negligent of their souls under the light of
the gospel, act as if they supposed, that they should be able here after
to make their part good with God. 1 Cor. x. 22. "Do we provoke the
Lord to jealousy? Are we stronger than he ?"...But they will have no
power, no might to resist that omnipotence, which will be engaged against
them.
2. They will have no strength in their hands to do any thing to appease
God, or in the least to abate the fierceness of his wrath. They will not
be able to offer any satisfaction: they will not be able to procure God's
pity. Though they cry, God will not hear them. They will find no price to
offer to God, in order to purchase any favor, or to pay any part of their
debt.
3. They will not be able to find any to befriend them, and intercede with
God for them. They had the offer of a mediator often made them in this world;
but they will have no offers of such a nature in hell. None will befriend
them. They will have no friend in HELL; all there will be their enemies.
They will have no friend in heaven: 'None of the saints or angels will befriend
them; or if they should, it would be to no purpose. There will be no creature
that will have any power to dellver them, nor will any ever pity them.
4. Nor will they ever be able to make their escape. They will find no means
to break prison and flee. In hell, they will be reserved in chains of darkness
for ever and ever. Malefactors have often found means to break prison, and
escape the hand of, civil justice. But none ever escaped out of the prison
of hell, which is God's prison. It is a strong prison: it is beyond any
finite power, or the united strength of all wicked men and devils, to unlock,
or break open the door of that prison. Christ hath the key of hell; "he
shuts and no man opens."
5. Nor will they ever be able to find any thing to relieve them in hell.
They will never find any resting place there; any place of respite; any
secret corner, which will be cooler than the rest, where they may have a
little respite, a small abatement of the extremity of their torment. They
never will be able to find any cooling stream or fountain, in any part of
that world of torment; no, nor so much as a drop of water to cool their
tongues. They will find no company to give them any comfort, or to do them
the least good. They will find no place, where they can remain, and rest,
and take breath for one minute: For they will be tormented with fire and
brimstone; and will have no rest day nor night for ever and ever.
Thus impenitent sinners will be able neither to shun the punishment threatened,
nor to deliver themselves from it, nor to find any relief under it.
I come now,
IV. To show, that neither will they be able to bear it. Neither will their
bands be strong to deliver t}themselves from it, nor will their hearts be
able to endure it. It is common with men, when they meet with calamities
in this world, in the first place to endeavor to shun them. But if they
find, that they cannot shun them, then after they are come, they endeavor
to deliver themselves from them as soon as they can; or at least, to order
things so, as to deliver themselves in some degree. But if they find that
they can by no means deliver themselves, and see that the case is so that
they must bear them; then they set themselves to bear them: they fortify
their spirits, and take up a resolution, that they will support themselves
under them as well as they can.
But it will be utterly in vain for impenitent sinners to think to do thus
with respect to the torments of hell. They will not be able to endure them,
or at all to support themselves under them: the torment will be immensely
beyond their strength. What will it signify for a worm, which is about to
be pressed under the weight of some great rock, to be let fall with its
whole weight upon it, to collect its strength, to set itself to bear up
the weight of the rock, and to preserve itself from being crushed by it?
Much more in vain will it be for a poor damned soul, to endeavor to support
itself under the weight of the wrath of Almighty God. What is the strength
of man, who is but a worm, to support himself against the power of Jehovah,
and against the fierceness of his wrath? What is man's strength, when set
to bear up against the exertions of infinite power? Matt. xxi. 44, "Whosoever
shall fall on this stone shall be broken; but on whomsoever it shall fall,
it will grind him to powder."
When sinners hear of hell torments, they sometimes think with themselves:
Well, if it shall come to that, that I must go to hell, I will bear it as
well as I can: as if by clothing themselves with resolution and firmness
of mind, they would be able to support themselves in some measure; when,
alas! they will have no resolution, no courage at all. However they shall
have prepared themselves, and collected their strength; yet as soon as they
shall begin to feel that wrath, their hearts will melt and be as water.
However before they may seem to harden their hearts, in order to prepare
themselves to bear, yet the first moment they feel it, their hearts will
become like wax before the furnace. Their courage and resolution will be
all gone in an instant; it will vanish away like a shadow in the twinkling
of an eye. The stoutest and most sturdy will have no more courage than the
feeblest infant: let a man be an infant, or a giant, it will be all one.
They will not be able to keep alive any courage, any strength, any comfort,
any hope at all.
I come now as was proposed,
V. To answer an inquiry which may naturally be raised concerning these things.
Inquiry. Some may be ready to say, If this be the case, if impenitent sinners
can neither shun future punishment, nor deliver themselves from it, nor
bear it; then what will become of them?
Answer. They will wholly sink down into eternal death. There will be that
sinking of heart, of which we now cannot conceive. We see how it is with
the body when in extreme pain. The nature of the body will support itself
for a considerable time under very great pain, so as to keep from wholly
sinking. There will be great struggles, lamentable groans and panting, and
it may be convulsions. These are the strugglings of nature to support itself
under the extremity of the pain. There is, as it were, a great lothness
in nature to yield to it; it cannot bear wholly to sink.
But yet sometimes pain of body is so very extreme and exquisite, that the
nature of the body cannot support itself under it; however loth it may be
to sink, yet it cannot bear the pain; there are a few struggles, and throes,
and pantings, and it may be a shriek or two, and then nature yields to the
violence of the torments, sinks down, and the body dies. This is the death
of the body. So it will be with the soul in hell; it will have no strength
or power to deliver itself and its torment and horror will be so great,
so mighty, so vastly disproportioned to its strength, that having no strength
in the least to support itself, although it be infinitely contrary to the
nature and inclination of the soul utterly to sink; yet it will sink, it
will utterly and totally sink, without the least degree of remaining comfort,
or strength, or courage, or hope. And though it will never be annihilated,
its being and perception will never be abolished, yet such will be the infinite
depth of gloominess that it will sink into, that it will be in a state of
death, eternal death.
The nature of man desires happiness; it is the nature of the soul to crave
and thirst after well-being; and if it be under misery, it eagerly pants
after relief; and the greater the misery is, the more eagerly doth it struggle
for help. But if all relief be withholden, all strength overborne, all support
utterly gone; then it sinks into the darkness of death.
We can conceive but little of the matter; we cannot conceive what that sinking
of the soul in such a case is. But to help your conception, imagine yourself
to be cast into a fiery oven, or of a great furnace, where your pain would
be as much greater than that occasioned by accidentally touching a coal
of fire, as the heat is greater. Imagine also that your body were to lie
there for a quarter of an hour, all the while full of quick sense; what
horror would you feel at the entrance of such a furnace! And how long would
that quarter of an hour seem to you! And after you had endured it for one
minute, how overbearing would it be to you to think that you had it to endure
the other fourteen!
But what would be the effect on your soul, if you knew you must lie there
enduring that torment to the full for twenty-four hours! And how much greater
would be the effect, if you knew you must endure it for a whole year; and
how vastly greater still, if you knew you must endure it for a thousand
years! O then, how would your heart sink, if you thought, if you knew, that
you must bear it forever and ever! That there would be no end! That after
millions of millions of ages, your torment would be no nearer to an end,
than ever it was; and that you never, never should be delivered!
But your torment in hell will be immensely greater than this illustration
represents. How then will the heart of a poor creature sink under it! How
utterly inexpressible and inconceivable must the sinking of the soul be
in such a case!
This is the death threatened in the law. This is dying in the highest sense
of the word. This is to die sensibly; to die and know it; to be sensible
of the gloom of death. This is to be undone; this is worthy of the name
of destruction. This sinking of the soul under an infinite weight, which
it cannot bear, is the gloom of hell. We read in Scripture of the blackness
of darkness; this is it, this is the very thing. We read in Scripture of
sinners being lost, and of their losing their souls: this is the thing intended;
this is to lose the soul: they that are the subjects of this are utterly
lost.
APPLICATION
This subject may be applied in a use of awakening to impenitent sinners.
What hath been said under this doctrine is for thee, O impenitent sinner,
O poor wretch, who art in the same miserable state in which thou camest
into the world, excepting that thou art loaded with vastly greater guilt
by thine actual sins. These dreadful things which thou hast heard are for
thee, who art yet unconverted, and still remainest an alien and stranger,
without Christ and without God in the world. They are for thee, who to this
day remainest an enemy to God, and a child of the devil, even in this remarkable
season, when others both here and elsewhere, far and near, are flocking
to Christ; for thee who hearest the noise, the fame of these things, but
knowest nothing of the power of godliness in thine own heart.
Whoever thou art, whether young or old, little or great, if thou art in
a Christless, unconverted state, this is the wrath, this is the death to
which thou art condemned. This is the wrath that abideth on thee; this is
the hell over which thou hangest, and into which thou art ready to drop
every day and every night.
If thou shalt remain blind, and hard, and dead in sin a little longer, this
destruction will come upon thee: God hath spoken and he will do it. It is
vain for thee to flatter thyself with hopes that thou shalt avoid it, or
to say in thine heart, perhaps it will not be; perhaps it will not be just
so; perhaps things have been represented worse than they are. If thou wilt
not be convinced by the word preached to thee by men in the name of God,
God himself will undertake to convince thee, Ezekiel xiv. 4, 7, 8.
Doth it seem to thee not real that thou shalt suffer such a dreadful destruction,
because it seems to thee that thou dust not deserve it? And because thou
dust not see any thing so horrid in thyself, as to answer such a dreadful
punishment? Why is it that thy wickedness doth not seem bad enough to deserve
this punishment? The reason is, that thou lovest thy wickedness; thy wickedness
seems good to thee; it appears lovely to thee; thou dust not see any hatefulness
in it, or to be sure, any such hatefulness as to answer such misery.
But know, thou stupid, blind, hardened wretch, that God doth not see, as
thou seest with thy polluted eyes: thy sins in his sight are infinitely
abominable.-Thou knowest that thou hast a thousand and a thousand times
made light of the Majesty of God. And why should not that Majesty, which
thou hast thus despised, be manifested in the greatness of thy punishment?
Thou hast often heard what a great and dreadful God Jehovah is; but thou
hast made so light of it, that thou hast not been afraid of him, thou hast
not been afraid to sin against him, nor to go on day after day, by thy sins,
to provoke him to wrath, nor to cast his commands under foot, and trample
on them. Now why may not God, in the greatness of thy destruction, justly
vindicate and manifest the greatness of that Majesty, which thou hast despised?
Thou hast despised the mighty power of God; thou hast not been afraid of
it. Now why is it not fit that God should show the greatness of his power
in thy ruin? What king is there who will not show his authority in the punishment
of those subjects that despise it! And who will not vindicate his royal
majesty in executing vengeance on those that rise in rebellion? And art
thou such a fool as to think that the great King of heaven and earth, before
whom all other kings are so many grasshoppers, will not vindicate his kingly
Majesty on such contemptuous rebels as thou art?-Thou art very much mistaken
if thou thinkest so. If thou be regardless of God's Majesty, be it known
to thee, God is not regardless of his own Majesty; he taketh care of the
honor of it, and he will vindicate it.
Think it not strange that God should deal so severely with thee, or that
the wrath which thou shalt suffer should be so great. For as great as it
is, it is no greater than that love of God which thou hast despised. The
love of God, and his grace, condescension, and pity to sinners in sending
his Son into the world to die for them, is every whit as great and wonderful
as this inexpressible wrath. This mercy hath been held forth to thee, and
described in its wonderful greatness hundreds of times, and as often hath
it been offered to thee; but thou wouldst not accept Christ; thou wouldst
not have this great love of God; thou despisedst God's dying love; thou
trampledst the benefits of it under foot. Now why shouldst thou not have
wrath as great as that love and mercy which thou despisest and rejectest?
Doth it seem incredible to thee, that God should so harden his heart against
a poor sinner, as so to destroy him, and to bear him down with infinite
power and merciless wrath? And is this a greater thing than it is for thee
to harden thy heart, as thou hast done, against infinite mercy, and against
the dying love of God?
Doth it seem to thee incredible, that God should be so utterly regardless
of the sinner's welfare, as so to sink him into an infinite abyss of misery?
Is this shocking to thee? And is it not at all shocking to thee, that thou
shouldst be so utterly regardless as thou hast been of the honor and glory
of the infinite God?
It arises from thy foolish stupidity and senselessness, and is because thou
hast a heart of stone, that thou art so senseless of thine own wickedness
as to think thou hast not deserved such a punishment, and that it is to
thee incredible that it will be inflicted upon thee.-But if, when all is
said and done, thou be not convinced, wait but a little while, and thou
wilt be convinced: God will undertake to do the work which ministers cannot
do. -Though judgment against thine evil works be not yet executed, and God
now let thee alone, yet he will soon come upon thee with his great power,
and then thou shalt know what God is, and what thou art.
Flatter not thyself, that if these things shall prove true, and the worst
shall come, thou wilt set thyself to bear it as well as thou canst. What
will it signify to set thyself to bear, and to collect thy strength to support
thyself, when thou shalt fall into the hands of that omnipotent King, Jehovah?
He that made thee, can make his sword approach unto thee. His sword is not
the sword of man, nor is his wrath the wrath of man. If it were, possibly
stoutness might be maintained under it. But it is the fierceness of the
wrath of the great God, who is able to baffle and dissipate all thy strength
in a moment. He can fill thy poor soul with an ocean of wrath, a deluge
of fire and brimstone; or he can make it ten thousand times fuller of torment
than ever an oven was full of fire; and at the same time, can fill it with
despair of ever seeing an end to its torment, or any rest from its misery:
and then where will be thy strength? What will become of thy courage then?
What will signify thine attempts to bear?
What art thou in the hands of the great God, who made heaven and earth by
speaking a word? What art thou, when dealt with by that strength, which
manages all this vast universe, holds the globe of the earth, directs all
the motions of the heavenly bodies from age to age, and, when the fixed
time shall come, will shake all to pieces? There are other wicked beings
a thousand times stronger than thou: there are the great leviathans, strong
and proud spirits, of a gigantic stoutness and hardiness. But how little
are they in the hands of the great God! They are less than weak infants;
they are nothing, and less than nothing in the hands of an angry God, as
will appear at the day of judgment. Their hearts will be broken; they will
sink; they will have no strength nor courage left; they will be as weak
as water; their souls will sink down into an infinite gloom, an abyss of
death and despair. Then what will become of thee, a poor worm, when thou
shalt fall into the hands of that God, when he shall come to show his wrath,
and make his power known on thee?
If the strength of all the wicked men on earth, and of all the devils in
hell, were united in one, and thou wert possessed of it all; and if the
courage, greatness, and stoutness of all their hearts were united in thy
single heart, thou wouldst be nothing in the hands of Jehovah. If it were
all collected, and thou shouldst set thyself to bear as well as thou couldst,
all would sink under his great wrath in an instant, and would be utterly
abolished: thine hands would drop down at once and thine heart would melt
as wax.-The great mountains, the firm rocks, cannot stand before the power
of God; as fast as they stand, they are tossed hither and thither, and skip
like lambs, when God appears in his anger. He can tear the earth in pieces
iii a moment; yea, lie can shatter the whole universe, and dash it to pieces
at one blow. How then will thine hands be strong, or thine heart endure?
Thou canst not stand before a lion of the forest; an angry wild beast, if
stirred up, will easily tear such a one as thou art in pieces. Yea, not
only so, but thou art crushed before the moth. A very little thing, a little
worm or spider, or some such insect, is able to kill thee. What then canst
thou do in the hands of God? It is vain to set the briers and thorns in
battle array against glowing flames; the points of thorns, though sharp,
do nothing to withstand the fire.
Some of you have seen buildings on fire; imagine therefore with yourselves,
what a poor hand you would make at fighting with the flames, if you were
in the midst of so great and fierce a fire. You have often seen a spider,
or some other noisome insect, when thrown into the midst of a fierce fire,
and have observed how immediately it yields to the force of the flames.
There is no long struggle, no fighting against the fire, no strength exerted
to oppose the heat, or to fly from it; but it immediately stretches forth
itself and yields; and the fire takes possession of it, and at once it becomes
full of fire. Here is a little image of what you will be the subjects of
in hell, except you repent and fly to Christ. However you may think that
you will fortify yourselves, and bear as well as you can; the first moment
you shall be cast into hell, all your strength will sink and be utterly
abolished. To encourage yourselves, that you will set yourselves to bear
hell torments as well as you can, is just as if a worm, that is about to
be thrown into a glowing furnace, should swell and fortify itself and prepare
itself to fight the flames.
What can you do with lightnings? What doth it signify to fight with them?
What an absurd figure would a poor weak man make, who, in a thunder-storm,
should expect a flash of lightning on his head or his breast, and should
go forth sword in hand to oppose it; when a stream of brimstone would, in
an instant, drink up all his spirits and his life, and melt his sword!
Consider these things, all you enemies of God, and rejecters of Christ,
whether you be old men or women, Christless heads of families, or young
people and wicked children. Be assured, that if you do not hearken and repent,
God intends to show his wrath, and make his power known upon you. He intends
to magnify himself exceedingly in sinking you down in hell. He intends to
show his great majesty at the day of judgment, before a vast assembly, in
your misery; before a greater assembly many thousand fold than ever yet
appeared on earth; before a vast assembly of saints, and a vast assembly
of wicked men, a vast assembly of holy angels, and before all the crew of
devils. God will before all these get himself honor in your destruction;
you shall be tormented in the presence of them all. Then all will see that
God is a great God indeed; then all will see how dreadful a thing it is
to sin against such a God, and to reject such a Saviour, such love and grace,
as you have rejected and despised. All will be filled with awe at the great
sight, and all the saints and angels will look upon you, and adore that
majesty, and that mighty power, and that holiness and justice of God, which
shall appear in your ineffable destruction and misery.
It is probable that here are some, who hear me this day, who at this very
moment are unawakened, and are in a great degree careless about their souls.
I fear there are some among us who are most fearfully hardened: their hearts
are harder than the very rocks. It is easier to make impressions upon an
adamant than upon their hearts. I suppose some of you have heard all that
I have said with ease and quietness: it appears to you as great big sounding
words, but doth not reach your hearts. You have heard such things many times:
you are old soldiers, and have been too much used to the roaring of heaven's
cannon, to be frighted at it. It will therefore probably be in vain for
me to say any thing further to you; I will only put you in mind that ere
long God will deal with you. I cannot deal with you, you despise what I
say; I have no power to make you sensible of your danger and misery, and
of the dreadfulness of the wrath of God. The attempts of men in this way
have often proved vain.
However, God hath undertaken to deal with such men as you are. It is his
manner commonly first to let men try their utmost strength: particularly
to let ministers try, that thus he may show ministers their own weakness
and impotency; and when they have done what they can, and all fails, then
God takes the matter into his own hands. So it seems by your obstinacy,
as if God intended to undertake to deal with you. He will undertake to subdue
you; he will see if he cannot cure you of your senselessness and regardlessness
of his threatenings. And you will be convinced; you will be subdued effectually:
your hearts will be broken with a witness; your strength will be utterly
broken, your courage and hope will sink. God will surely break those who
will not bow. God, having girded himself with his power and wrath, hath
heretofore undertaken to deal with many hard
stubborn, senseless, obstinate hearts; and he never failed, he always did
his work thoroughly.
It will not be long before you will be wonderfully changed. You who now
hear of hell and the wrath of the great God, and sit here in these seats
so easy and quiet, and go away so careless; by and by will shake, and tremble,
and cry out, and shriek, and gnash your teeth, and will be thoroughly convinced
of the vast weight and importance of these great things, which you now despise.
Please visit our other web sites: The
Torments of Hell, The
Narrow Way, The Glory
of Heaven, The Terrors
of Hell, Suicide:
Gateway to Peace? and The
Pilgrim's Progress Primer. To read an account of several modern examples
of conversion similar to those described by Jonathan Edwards in A Faithful Narrative,
please see Great
Awakening Style Conversions.
Tracts, sermons, and books by puritan writers are available from: